Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes

Gladys Horton, lead singer of the Marvelettes, one of Motown's earliest and most successful groups, has died aged 65. Gladys (pictured centre) was just 16 when she sang lead on Motown's first number one Please Mr Postman and her strong voice was heard to good effect on a string of classics until she left the group in 1967. These included Beechwood 4-5789, You're My Remedy, Too Many Fish in the Sea and Don't Mess With Bill, plus Locking Up My heart, the Oriole release of which is one of the rarest 45s in my collection. After she left the group success continued for a couple of years before breaking up in the late 1960s. Gladys later performed under her own name but in recent years suffered a number of strokes. A sad loss. Here's her singing the first great Marvelettes hit with a later version of the group http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDmUVAp0aVQ